Bold Predictions: Patriots at Jets 11/22/12

November 22nd, 201211:00 am

Brian Bassett , TheJetsBlog.com

In big mismatched games, we like to throw out some crazy predictions. Sometimes they work, most times they don’t. You can fully expect us to crow about the ones we get right while never mentioning the ones we totally blew. Add your bold predictions in the comments!

Dustin Keller Will Gain 100+ Yards — The last month has been a quiet one for Keller, but in his last matchup with the Patriots, Keller was 7/7 on targets/catches and he gained 93 yards and a touchdown. Tonight with a questionable Kerley the passing game is going to have to go through Keller even more and the Jets would be wise to split him out against a bad group of nickel defensive backs.

At Least Two Gamechanging Plays for BeastMo – When I say gamechanging plays, I mean something like a third down sack or a forced fumble of a ballcarrier. I know he’s only got three sacks on the season and three forced fumbles, but Wilkerson seems to be hitting his stride now that Sione is playing better and I think he’ll be able to create some great interior pressure on the Patriots and get to Brady or the ballcarrier at least a few times tonight.

Clyde Gates is About to Blast Off — Put me to the head of the line of folks who hate seeing Gates talk trash after every play he makes, but with Kerley’s uncertainty and Mark Sanchez’s growing confidence in Sparano’s receiver from his Miami days, Gates might be able to easily get behind this very bad secondary and make 2-3 big plays for the Jets tonight.

Kyle Wilson Will Play Some Shutdown — There is only one Darrelle Revis, but Kyle Wilson has been consistently looking better and more comfortable over the season. He gave up five catches on nine targets last week, but none was for more than 10 yards. Wilson will be put to the test this week against Tom Brady, but I think that Kyle Wilson will acquit himself well and get at least one interception on the night. Oh and Aaron Berry might be the one to cover Welker — I worry that might go poorly for the Jets.

Bilal Powell Will Rise — We get that Bilal Powell hasn’t taken a ton of snaps this year, but we think that this will be the week in which he’ll clearly put the case together to supplant Shonn Greene for good and all. The Patriots play the run decently and Powell is playing at a much better clip than Greene has over the course of the season. Tonight the Jets will need to grind it out on the Patriots to keep themselves in the game and Powell will be the hot hand to help them do just that.